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New car registrations fall by 2.5% in January but EV sales continue to rise

Number of new cars registered totalled 139,345 vehicles.

File photo dated 11/09/23 of the new Mini Cooper Electric on the production line at the BMW Mini plant at Cowley in Oxford. The UK’s new car market recorded its second successive year of growth with a 2.6% rise in registrations in 2024, new figures show. Issue date: Saturday January 4, 2025.
Car production File photo dated 11/09/23 of the new Mini Cooper Electric on the production line at the BMW Mini plant at Cowley in Oxford. The UK’s new car market recorded its second successive year of growth with a 2.6% rise in registrations in 2024, new figures show. Issue date: Saturday January 4, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA)
By Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter

The new car market fell by 2.5 per cent in January, despite both plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles recording significant growth.

That’s according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which show a 15.4 per cent drop in the registration of new petrol vehicles alongside a 7.7 per cent fall for diesel. In total, 139,345 vehicles were registered during the month.

The sale of electric vehicles, meanwhile, grew by 41.6 per cent to occupy a 21.3 per cent market share. Plug-in hybrid registrations also grew by 5.5 per cent, while the sale of ‘regular’ hybrids increased by 2.9 per cent too.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “January’s figures show EV demand is growing – but not fast enough to deliver on current ambitions. Affordability remains a major barrier to uptake, hence the need for compelling measures to boost demand, and not just from manufacturers.

“The application, therefore, of the ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ to VED on electric vehicles is the wrong measure at the wrong time. Rather than penalising EV buyers, we should be taking every step to encourage more drivers to make the switch, helping meet government, industry and societal climate change goals.”

Current SMMT forecasts see the UK’s new car market contracting by 0.2 per cent in 2025 to 1.95 million units, while electric vehicle uptake is expected to rise by 20.9 per cent to 462,000 units – a 23.7 per cent market share.

James Hosking, managing director of AA Cars, said: “As the calendar flipped to January, growth in the UK’s new car market took a dip.

“Total registrations for 2024 were up by 2.6%, but in January new car registrations fell to 137,000 units — down 2.7% from 140,786 the previous month — due to slower demand from both fleet and private buyers.

“Car-buying decisions have been impacted by economic factors, such as higher interest rates and persistent inflation, and some consumers remain cautious about making big-ticket purchases. However, improving economic conditions are expected to boost confidence in the new car market.”